Writing this for a friend who doesn't have reddit. I am on mobile so please excuse atrocious formatting and mild errors.
TL;DR at bottom.
Friend, we'll call Bob (not real name) was out of work for 5 weeks and got asked to come work for this guy we'll call DB. (This story takes place in western North Carolina).
Friend is a fabricator and specialty painter (UV, gel, industrial, etc) and is very good at his job. Last job was making 19.50/hr working insane hours every week. His specialty is only used in 4 places on the east coast so it is a very niche field of work.
So DB wanted Bob to come work for him, he had seen Bob's work and desperately needed someone with his skillset. He offered him $20/hr starting and $25 after first 2 weeks if he is as good as he seems. DB job offer consisted of: PTO, travel commute bonuses, increase pay opportunities, 8 hour shifts, and guaranteed 40 hours per week.
Bob was obviously thrilled because he has a fiance and 2 children and is the breadwinner for the household, and he definitely needs the money. I did warn him this seemed alil too good to be true.
Monday last week (9/18/23) Bob went in and started working. He was praised numerous times throughout the week by DB on his level of work including “you are definitely worth the money and im very impressed by your knowledge”. Come the end of the week DB tells Bob he will be writing him a check at the end of week 2 since they hadn't done payroll paperwork yet. Bob asks if they could do a check for each week as his bills were due and he did not have anymore savings left, DB agreed to this and cut him a check for the base hours he worked. (NOTE: this check did not have OT or the time it took for Bob to go to the parts store and return with items that DB requested he go pick up for the business in Bob's personal vehicle).
This week:
Bob worked everyday same as last week and come today, when he showed DB that he had finished a time critical product DB said “while it is on my mind, it looks great but I will not be pursuing a need for you any further” followed by offering to pay Bob under the table if Bob wants to lie to the unemployment office to make some extra money, and DB would call Bob if he wanted/needed him to come paint items in the next couple weeks. Then asking if Bob wanted to come in Tuesday to help DB pack up the job items Bob had just finished and said he could pay Bob Tuesday after he shipped off the stuff.
Bob told him he kinda needed the money today because his bills were due and they had agreed that he would get paid today. After Bob told him this DB got a little more defensive and made it seem like Bob was being an inconvenience to him and told him he would write him a check now, and he was only going to pay Bob for 30 hours because that's “how long I think the Job should have taken you”. (However Bob worked well over 40 hours this week).
So to the advice/help:
What options does Bob have? I thought I had read stories on reddit about people going to state department of labor but unsure if it would work inthis situation.
He is missing (approximately) $450 from check(s) and does not have the ability to pay for a lawyer, so I'm turning to reddit for advice of any sort.
TL;DR
Boss makes promises, underpass person, fires employee but offers to do illegal work under the table if employee lies to Unemployment office.
Any help/help at all is appreciated.